RTT Expedition Trailer V2.0

[ljrunner05]

I love camping. I've been hammock camping for the last 12 years, and was tent camping with my father before that. Add to that a love of jeeps and exploring and it's a recipe for fun. My hammocks have upgraded from an old ENO to a Hennessy Jungle Hammock, and my jeeps have gone from a 2000 Cherokee to a 2010 Wrangler Unlimited.

After getting married I decided it was time to upgrade from hammocks to a RTT so my wife and I could relax in comfort. I found a craigslist "off road" trailer for cheap, added a ladder rack and Tepui tent. It's served it's purpose for the last few months, but it's time to upgrade.

I've got a 6 day KAT expedition coming up the end of this month, so my father and I are trying our best to get this trailer ready in time.

In version 2.0 I started with a list of requirements(not necessarily in order). To start with my old trailer was too high up while traveling. On the new trailer I wanted a RTT Lift. Second I needed on board water storage. A couple 5 gallon jugs from walmart is great, but I'd prefer to have a larger tank on board with a propane instant hot water heater for longer trips. Third is off-road capability and clearance. Forth is kayak storage.

With the idea's flowing my dad, Mudicon on the forum, started helping me come up with ideas. He already has a offroad trailer that we'll be stealing ideas from.

Old Trailer:



The start of the new trailer: :sombrero:

 

[ljrunner05]

Day 1:
My dad took his trailer over to the local steel yard and came back with most of what we needed to get started.


This trailer will be built in two major parts. The upper body, and the frame. The frame will consist of a thick 2 inch steel backbone with a second welded cross section to support the suspension. The body will be bolted down to that. For us, that means we can remove the suspension and set the body off if needed. It also means I can pull the jeep out of a rut by the trailer if we ever had to. The backbone will basically be an extension of the frame of the jeep. (Jeep to receiver to solid steel backbone to receiver on the back of the trailer.) Hopefully I won't get that stuck and have to test that theory.

We started with the body. Once we found a level spot on the floor, the welding started and grinding started.







Not bad for Day 1!

 

[ljrunner05]

Day 2

I'd imagine day 2 will look an awful lot like day 1. Welding and grinding, but it's starting to take shape quicker than I ever imagined.




Mudicon found these awesome hinges at Lowes. They allowed us to make a swinging tailgate that opened wide, but closed inside the tailgate frame. When it's done, the tailgate will transform into a table. It will be one of the last things we finish up, so I guess you'll just have to follow along until we are done! :sombrero:






This about sums up Day 2. We made a lot of progress, and have a lot more to go. The next thing will be skinning the body, and getting the frame complete. We'll have the frame notched and welded professionally, so I won't have a ton of pics of that.

 

[ljrunner05]

Got another weekend free to come down to Alabama and work with my dad on the trailer. He made some progress during the evenings so there maybe a few missed steps. No way I could have done this without Mudicon!

Day 3:

Mudicon was able to get the frame welded and painted by the time I came down for another weekend. He also had the plates for the axles and receiver tube welded on. It looks awesome!




Day 3 we started welding the sheet steel sides onto the trailer, and bolted the body down to the frame. We also cut some plywood for the 30 gallon water tank to rest on.






As we continued on through the afternoon we got the second side skinned, and started on the telescoping tubes. Mudicon cut the tubing where the tubes would go, then welded them back solid to the tube. As you can see, the first one is mostly done with the support on top.




It's been 3 Full days, plus some evenings by Mudicon, and we already have the suspension, frame, body and part of the tent mounts done.

 

[ljrunner05]

Day 4:

Day 4 was our first test drive, but prior to that we wanted to start on the wood rack. For those wondering why the body of the trailer stuck out so far we planned for a wood rack on the front.



Wood rack is starting to come together.



All hooked up to Mudicon's Hemi Commander and ready to go. This thing has crazy good clearance!



Not sure I got any pics of us traveling down the road, but it did perfect. Pulled straight, it was no rattles or bouncing even with minimal weight.



That about sums up day 4. We did start to skin the top, but I didn't get many good pics of that. More to come!

 

[ljrunner05]

Day 5:

This last weekend I went down to Alabama to work some more on the trailer with Mudicon. We are getting close, but have to be done by the 25th of this month for our KAT trip.

Let's start with some pics!

Got the water tank and flooring installed. The pump and pressure tank are all connected up and ready for testing.



Mudicon spraying on the rubber coating.



Getting the rest of the tent supports welded together. We were a little worried. If everything wasn't perfect, it would get bound up and not move.




First Test of the telescoping tent rack!




No worries, it worked perfectly! We then used the forklift to set the tent on top.




To say we were excited would be a drastic understatement. Everything is finally coming together.




Last but not least we drilled the holes and pushed the pins through. I've got a few more pics to upload, but I hit my 10 attachment limit. BRB. :sombrero:

 

[ljrunner05]

So we took the jeep and trailer for a test run. It pulls great, the suspension is perfect. I couldn't be happier. We've got a few things left before the trip. Fenders, Lights, tailgate and the floor of the firewood rack. One more day of work and it will be ready for the KAT!

Here are a few pics we took after the test run.



More updates to come after next weekend!

 

[DanCooper]

Very nice! Fast work too!

 

[Airmapper]

Wow, that's nice. I'm going to have to look at that a little closer someday soon. :ylsmoke:

Is that a Timbren axle-less system I see there? I've got a dream in my mind of building my own trailer and had that picked out for it. Looks like it really adds some clearance underneath.

Edit: on second thought, Not Timbren? What is that? Looks like trailing arm landing gear off an airplane ha ha.

 

[ljrunner05]

Here is a quick video of the first time we lifted the tent.

 

[ljrunner05]

Very nice! Fast work too!

Thanks! Mudicon did the welding and worked a lot of nights on it. He get's the best father of the year award. lol

 

[ljrunner05]

Wow, that's nice. I'm going to have to look at that a little closer someday soon. :ylsmoke:

Is that a Timbren axle-less system I see there? I've got a dream in my mind of building my own trailer and had that picked out for it. Looks like it really adds some clearance underneath.

Edit: on second thought, Not Timbren? What is that? Looks like trailing arm landing gear off an airplane ha ha.

Yes, yes you should check it out soon! lol

We looked at the Timbren, but they were a little pricey. Here is the torsion axles I got instead:
http://www.easternmarine.com/flexiride-torsion-half-axles-fr-140b-2

Either way you go works and have a tremendous amount of clearance!

 

[Mudicon]

Wow, that's nice. I'm going to have to look at that a little closer someday soon. :ylsmoke:

Is that a Timbren axle-less system I see there? I've got a dream in my mind of building my own trailer and had that picked out for it. Looks like it really adds some clearance underneath.

Edit: on second thought, Not Timbren? What is that? Looks like trailing arm landing gear off an airplane ha ha.

After a bunch of research, these really looked to be the best option...and we have not been disappointed.

 

[Mudicon]

Thanks! Mudicon did the welding and worked a lot of nights on it. He get's the best father of the year award. lol

:iagree:

 

[ljrunner05]

I've got a few updates, but not many pictures. We were in a time rush on Father's Day and I didn't take the extra time to snap many pics.

We had a lot of little things to finish up this last weekend. First and foremost was trailer lights. We got those run with little trouble early in the morning. The next thing was attaching the fenders.



Just a FYI for anyone building a trailer, do your trailer lights after you are 100% certain you won't be doing any more welding. Otherwise you'll get to pull your melted wires, and run new ones.



The fenders are perfect for this trailer. They were a good Northern Tool find.



Next up is the steps / fender mount / tree deflectors. :sombrero:



I haven't decided if I want expanded metal or diamond plate to cover the steps. Thoughts anyone?



This week I'm finishing up the little things including a plywood bottom for the wood rack and having the diamond plate broke over. I also ran silicon around the trailer edges to try and keep out water. It won't make it a boat, but it should lessen the flooding during creek crossings.

I may have one more update before our Kentucky Adventure Trails trip starting this weekend. I'll have plenty of pics and a "How she did" write-up after we get back.